A Dolly Parton Costume Is Always the Right Choice for Halloween
A lot of celebrities have copied her distinctive style — and you can, too!
A blonde bouffant, bright colors, fake jewels, and a big smile — we all know country icon Dolly Parton’s signature look. Given that she’s been rocking the same style for decades, it’s no surprise that she makes for a popular costume come Halloween time; even her fellow celebrities can’t resist the opportunity to put on some high-quality Dolly garb. Here, we’ve collected seven examples of celebs who’ve dressed as the “Jolene” singer through the years (no hints, but one of these is pretty unexpected), plus, you’ll get some advice on how to put together your own quick but recognizable Dolly costume, should you be so inspired.
Adele
Hello from the Dolly side! The powerhouse British singer posted a picture of herself all dolled up in 2018. Even better? She posted it in January — so, take this as an excuse to dress up as Dolly months after Halloween if the spirit moves you. In her post, Adele called Dolly “A hero of my life,” and paid tribute to her in a pink pantsuit decked out with a matching feather boa.
In response to Adele’s picture, Parton expressed her delight at the costume, saying she was “really touched.”
Tanya Tucker
Back in 2015, singer Tanya Tucker posted a picture of herself dressed as Parton on Facebook. In a long black dress with flowing mesh sleeves, she painted a slightly more mysterious portrait of Dolly. It’s sweet to see one country star pay tribute to another, and the two musicians have a long working relationship, having collaborated on the song “Romeo” in 1993. For extra authenticity, Tucker even performed a stirring cover of “I Will Always Love You” while wearing her costume. Watch it below.
Miley Cyrus
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus go way back — Parton is Cyrus’ godmother, and the two musical stars adore one another and have performed together a number of times. Cyrus has also performed “Jolene” solo, putting a cool, youthful spin on Parton’s anthem. It makes sense, then, that Cyrus would dress up as Parton: She first paid tribute to her in a Halloween costume in 2014, and in 2020, Cyrus donned a blonde wig, some lipgloss, a corseted dress, and did her best Parton pose in honor of her godmother’s January birthday — proving that Dolly costumes never get old.
Olivia Wilde
Last year, the Don’t Worry Darling actress and director posted Instagram stories of herself dressed as Parton for Halloween. In one of the videos, she rides a Peloton while sipping white wine and wearing a tied-up blouse, capris, and heels. Amusingly, she captioned it “In my mind this is how she works out” and noted she fell off the bike after the photo was taken (hey, biking in heels isn’t easy!). In a slightly more spicy Instagram story, Wilde shimmied around in a prosthetic version of Parton’s famous — how shall we say this? — assets, sans shirt. After all, Halloween is always a good time for mischief.
Jason and Brittany Aldean
For Halloween last year, country star Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, went the extra mile with a Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton couples costume (yes, Jason wore a fake beard). The couple showed off the costume with a video in which they lip-synched Parton and Rogers’ 1983 hit duet “Islands in the Stream.” Aldean’s a big Parton fan, and has spoken about how she deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Keanu Reeves
We know this is a weird one — but Halloween is a strange and playful time of year. In an appearance on the Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk,” Reeves reminisced about dressing up as Dolly as a kid. “My mother was a costume designer and she made some costumes for Dolly Parton, and she once did the cover of Playboy,” the actor explained. “And somehow I guess she didn’t take that home. And so we had it, and it was Halloween. So I put on the ears and the bustier. I wore sneakers with fishnet stockings and the bow tie. I had some pretty long hair, and I was Dolly Parton’s Playboy Bunny.” Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of Reeves in the costume (that we know of), but his mom clearly had a dream job — and imagining the young actor in fishnets and a bustier is adorably silly.
You!
Want to dress up as Dolly yourself this year? We say, go for it! The one thing that unites all Parton costumes is, of course, a blonde bouffant hair piece. Buy an exaggerated wig from a local beauty or costume shop (or try Amazon), and you’re already halfway there. When it comes to makeup, slap on some fake lashes, bright lipstick, and press-on nails. As for clothes, consider a tied-up blouse with jeans and cowboy boots, a ruffled dress and heels, or even a sparkling suit, if you can swing it last-minute. Remember: Dolly costumes come in many forms — but the most important accessory you’ll need to bring along with you on Halloween night, in honor of Dolly, is a positive attitude.
